Keep kids healthy this back-to-school season

Easton Mueller, 5, grasps his mother, Tracy, before the two enter Mrs. Renee Wilberg\'s kindergarten room for the first day of school at Fair Park Elementary in West Bend, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/West Bend Daily News, John Ehlke) MANDATORY CREDIT

WASHINGTON – The start of the school year is always followed by an uptick in sick children.

The reason is simple. Lots of kids in close contact pass a lot of germs.

Dr. Erik Schobitz, a pediatric emergency room physician at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, says the risk of colds, viruses and the like always goes up when children are concentrated in schools or day care centers.

Schobitz says there are some basic steps parents can take to keep their kids healthy and safe.

The first step is to teach them to sneeze into their elbows, not their hands.

“If they sneeze on their hands, they can pass a lot of these cold viruses,” says Schobitz.

Kids need to be reminded to wash their hands before eating and to never share drinks with their friends, Schobitz cautions. They also should be told never to swap hats because head lice spread easily in schools.

Parents need to be concerned about far more than germs. Schobitz says many children who end up in the emergency room during the school year are hurt on the playground.

“We see a lot of injuries from people falling off the monkey bars, and falling off the trampoline.”